The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

overnight proofing sourdough

doddsa's picture
doddsa

overnight proofing sourdough

I proofed a sourdough loaf overnight and baked it this morning, its fantastic! I will do this everytime now

drogon's picture
drogon

...is how I describe my process.

Mix/knead at about 9pm. Leave it overnight (room temperature) then at about 6:45 - 7am it's scaled/shaped and left to proof then into the oven about 1.5 to 2 hours later.

My process with pictures :)

http://moorbakes.co.uk/making-a-sourdough-loaf/

-Gordon

AbeNW11's picture
AbeNW11 (not verified)

depends on how much levain you add. Must be careful as might completely destroy the gluten turning your 1kg dough into 1kg starter. Do you have a chart, or something, for levain/flour ratio + temp for how long one can bulk ferment for taking into consideration it needs a final proofing?

AbeNW11's picture
AbeNW11 (not verified)

Of course it would need a final proofing... what I mean is how long for final proofing taking into consideration the long bulk ferment before food runs out for the yeasts.

drogon's picture
drogon

I do this 6 days a week and sell the end result. I normally use 40% starter. Overall hydration 60 to 65% max. (Holes can't carry marmalade) Proofing after shaping is 1-2 hours. Works for me. Soon I'll have a temperature controlled proofing cupboard though. Will be able to control it better then without worrying about kitchen temperature.

-Gordon

doddsa's picture
doddsa

I bulk proofed from 20.00 till 00.00 last night then shaped and proofed in the fridge then baked at 08.30 this morning

AbeNW11's picture
AbeNW11 (not verified)

I normally bulk proof for around 4 hours too. When I do my own recipe I keep the levain 10-30% of the flour and stay within 4-6 hours so I know I'm within the range without over doing the bulk fermentation. Then I usually shape into the banneton, leave out for 20min then final proof in the fridge till the next morning. If following a recipe I'd do the recommended bulk proofing time and then final proof in the fridge if I need to fit a schedule.

But what I am not sure about is how long to bulk ferment taking into account the ratio levain/flour without over doing it and leaving enough time to final proof before the starter turns the dough into mush. So I stay well within a time limit.

doddsa's picture
doddsa

Fuck knows mate, trial and error i suppose

doddsa's picture
doddsa

Iv heard of people leaving shapd dough in the fridge for 24+hours

doddsa's picture
doddsa

I am a chef and have always shyed away from bread making but in really enjoying it now, what do you guys mean when you talk about %hydration?

drogon's picture
drogon

The percentage of water to flour in the final mix, taking the sourdough starter into account (although some people don't)

So a bread with 500g of flour and 300g of water has a hydration of 300/500 * 100 = 60%

Bakers often use a percentage system where the flour is the baseline for all other ingredients, so you might see

flour: 100%

water: 60%

salt: 2%

yeast: 2%

so if you want 600g flour, then it also needs 60% of 600g of water = 360g water, 2% salt: 12g same for yeast

and so on.

Sourdough fanatics like to push very high hydration doughs - 70% or more. Makes great bread, but also makes it harder to work with.

-Gordon

AbeNW11's picture
AbeNW11 (not verified)

can make up 30% + of the dough how can some people not take it into account?

AbeNW11's picture
AbeNW11 (not verified)

A starter which is equal weight water + flour is 100% hydration.

e.g. 1g flour + 1g water = 100% hydration

To work out hydration percentage of your bread just do the following formula...

 

Total water (including water in your starter) / Total flour (including flour in your starter) x 100

Water / Flour x 100

 

e.g.

 

500g flour

350g water

10g salt

50g starter (100% hydration = 25g flour + 25g water)

 

375 / 525 x 100 = 71% hydration bread

doddsa's picture
doddsa

Nice one lads, cheers Gordon and Abe, it wont be long before im baking like Paul Hollywood at this rate!

doddsa's picture
doddsa

Do you boys weigh your liquid?

AbeNW11's picture
AbeNW11 (not verified)

...Hydration is gram for gram. I always weigh the liquid and flour. If then you feel it's a bit too dry then slowly add more water, a little at a time, till you get your desired hydration to work with.

drogon's picture
drogon

since one ml is one gram it's easy.

And try this - take your favourite measuring jug and measure in 250ml of water - then weight it to see just how approximate it is...

Milk is as close to water weight as makes no difference. oil is a little lighter, but I've never bothered to correct it in my oil based cake recipes (ie. vegetable cakes, carrot, etc.)

-Gordon

doddsa's picture
doddsa

Of course, the metric system!!!!

drogon's picture
drogon

metric or imperial. Percentages are unitless - as long as you use the same units of weight (not volume). So use ounces to weigh flour and the same ounces to weigh water if you like. It doesn't work easily with cups as they are units of volume and you need to know the conversion factors for each substance. (and the country in-case different countries cups are different volume)

I'd advise sticking to grams if you can and most digital scales can be switched now, and if you don't have digital scales then get some - they're relatively cheap these days.

-Gordon

doddsa's picture
doddsa

Aye iv got digital scales. I take it you are a professional Baker

drogon's picture
drogon

... in that I earn money from it, however not enough to retire on - yet!

I run what's known as a "microbakery" in the UK. Essentially working from home, kitchen inspected by the local authority so I can legally sell my produce and I supply 2 small shops with bread and cakes and do events like afternoon tea partys, buffet suppers and so on. I have a nice well equipped kitchen and 3 ovens...

-Gordon

doddsa's picture
doddsa

That sounds amazing mate! I hope you do make the money to retire